The Beauty Shop of Horrors: Part Five

     The realization hit her like a chest full of treasure. Hannah dropped her cup of tea in shock, causing it to shatter upon its landing on the ground.

     "Sloth's."

     **************

     "Mwuhahaha, business is fabulous!" Sloth cackled, as his most recent brainwashed client left the beauty shop.

     The villain reseated himself at his front desk, dumping all of his collected Neopoints on the tabletop. He counted the amount to himself, and soon a large grin formed on his face.

     "More then one million Neopoints made in less then one day!" Sloth exclaimed, flying up from his chair. "All of these clients are filthy rich, and I'm lovin' it!"

     Sloth performed a little jig, and then quickly re-applied some makeup in front of the mirror so that he would be ready for his next unfortunate client.

     **************

     "Oh gosh, I should have known all along," gasped Hannah, panicked. "Now look at what's happened. Oh, this is so terrible! What am I going to do?!"

     Hannah had the urge to just run to Tina's house and beg for her help, but that all quickly stopped when she realized that the two were still in a fight.

     The Usul heaved a depressed sigh, and bent down to pick up the remains of her cup. Hot tea was splattered all across the kitchen flooring, and the shards of glass were very hard to throw away because they were so sharp. Soon, Hannah had cleaned everything up, and was ready to head over to Tina's and apologize. She didn't care if this was really all Tina's fault. She just she wanted them to be best friends again.

     "Time to get going," Hannah muttered as she made her way towards the front door.

     Swinging it open, Hannah was shocked to find Tina standing at the doorway, a saddened look flooding her expression.

     "T-Tina!" Hannah stammered, stepping out of her home and closing the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"

     Tina sighed, and began explaining. "Look, Hannah, last night I realized how big of a jerk I am. I always make fun of you, treat you like a slave, and think that I'm a much better pet then you. But that's when I also finally realized that you're the better pet, and I'm just some moron who thinks much too highly of herself. So, that's why I came here to apologize. And if you don't want to be my friend anymore, I can totally understand. I'll just let you live your life."

     Hannah stood still for a brief moment, thoughts of confusion littering her mind. She couldn't believe that Tina had actually apologized to her.

     "W-wow," breathed Hannah, still astounded, "that means so much to me, Tina! Of course I'll accept your apology!"

     The Usul suddenly threw her arms around her best friend, and sighed in relief. "Gosh, I'm so happy we're friends again, Tina," she stated, closing her eyes and smiling.

     Tina's body froze, and her eyes widened. "You're actually forgiving me?" she cried.

     Hannah let go of Tina, and nodded. A twinkle in her eyes made Tina grin as well. "I'll promise to be such a better friend, Hannah," Tina said. "I promise, promise, promise!"

     "I'm sure you will, Tina," said Hannah, winking. "But right now, there's a bigger issue then this."

     Tina raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

     Hannah began explaining the tale to her friend.

     **************

     "You're actually being serious?!" exclaimed Tina, shocked by the story that Hannah had just told her.

     Hannah bobbed her head. "Totally. This is really freaking me out, Tina. And that's why I need your help."

     "My help?" shouted Tina. "Why would you need my help? You're the famous adventurer! The one who can do anything! Why me?"

     "Because this isn't just a pile of old scallywag pirates!" Hannah clarified. "This is Sloth, and he has many more powers then them!"

     Tina nodded, finally understanding the situation. "Of course I'll help you, Hannah," she replied. "But I'm a bit afraid of Sloth. That's all."

     "Why wouldn't you be? He's done horrible things in the past, and is certainly capable of doing more now. That's why we've got to stop him."

     The two friends exchanged hopeful expressions, and both left off to 'Madame Sloopeh's Beauty Shop'.

     **************

     "Where have all the clients gone?!" Sloth yelled, exasperated. He had been waiting for the past two hours, and seven clients had already missed their appointments. This was very unusual to the villain.

     Sloth was bored, and couldn't think of anything that he could while waiting for the scheduled 3:00 p.m. appointment.

     "Hmmm, maybe I should give myself a haircut," muttered Sloth, snapping the scissors with his two fingers. "Nah, it's not time yet."

     A feeling of drowsiness and sleepiness suddenly overtook Sloth's body. His eyes began drooping, and he yawned stridently. "Hmm, maybe I should take a nap instead," said Sloth in between yawns.

     But before he could decide, the mastermind fell asleep in his chair.

     **************

     "I'm going to punch that little grimy piece of dung right when I get into that shop!" Tina growled, stampeding through the streets of Neopia Central. "How dare he take over Mademoiselle Beauté's shop! My goodness, she's like Fyora! Amazing and stunning!"

     Hannah held back her words, for she didn't want the people and pets around her to hear what she had to say. Every single word was a bit too crude to be yelled out in public. Hannah followed behind Tina as her friend snarled more aggressive comments.

     At last, the pair arrived at the entryway of Madame Sloopeh's shop. To Hannah, everything seemed oddly deserted and dead. There was a much different feeling then the vibrant one she had received on her first time here.

     "Oooh, Madame Sloopeh!" shouted Tina, slamming her fist against the front desk.

     Sloth awoke with a start. He peered around, and found the two Usuls standing in front him with enraged expressions planted on their face.

     "You!" Sloth shouted, thrusting his finger towards Hannah who pounced on his desk instantly.

     She ripped of Sloth's wig, revealing his trademark hairdo, which looked quite hideous at the moment.

     "We know what you've done, pipsqueak!" screeched Tina, kicking Sloth out of his chair.

     The villain fell to the ground, yelling angrily. "Get off of me, you idiots!"

     "No!" shouted back Tina, smearing her lipstick all over Sloth's face. "Show us where Mademoiselle Beauté is!"

     "Never!" boomed Sloth, attempting to punch Tina off of him.

     "Hannah, go look in the back!" Tina cried, motioning the back area with her head. "I'll take care of this little beast."

     Hannah had never seen Tina act in such a livid matter and was very surprised. Nonetheless, the Usul ran to the back of the shop, and slowly peered inside. Darkness encircled her, and the light switch was unfortunately nowhere to be seen.

     "M-Mademoiselle Beauté?" Hannah piped, slowly stepping inside the dark hallway.

     She heard a small rumble, but that was all. "Oh gosh, where could she be?" Hannah asked herself, frightened.

     The small rumble re-appeared again, this time a tad bit louder. Hannah's ears perked up, and she slowly began making her towards the source of the noise.

     A third rumble.

     It was coming from a closet. Hannah could tell, because the door was slightly rattling as well.

     "I'm coming," whispered Hannah, grabbing hold of the doorknob and slowly twisting it open.

     The sight before her made her scream in horror.

     An enormous block ice was lying before the Usul, and the real owner of the shop, Mademoiselle Beauté, was trapped inside. Her eyes were wide with horror, and her mouth hung open.

     A small pool of water encircled the block of ice, and the closet was strangely illuminated with light.

     "Mademoiselle Beauté!" Hannah gasped, racing towards the ice. "How do I get you out of here?!"

     That's when Hannah realized Mademoiselle Beauté couldn't reply. The Usul frantically looked around the closet, searching for something relatively sharp that could break through the ice. All of a sudden, a pair of hair-scissors shined from the darkness on a side-shelf. Hannah stepped forward in wonder, reaching out for the mysterious item. It was as if she could almost hear the scissors call out of her.

     Hannah snatched the scissors, and began stabbing through the ice with it. A chunk of it broke off, shattering in pieces as it landed on the ground. Hannah repeated this motion a few more times until half of the ice had been broken off. But by now, Hannah was also exhausted from the hard labor.

     Mademoiselle Beauté's leg began moving, and when Hannah saw this, she knew she had to continue on. She continually broke more and more of the ice off, helping Mademoiselle Beauté come closer to freedom.

     And with a mighty throw at the ice, the final pieces of it landed on the ground, freeing Mademoiselle Beauté at last.

     "Oh, thank you so much, dear!" Mademoiselle Beauté cried, hugging Hannah as hard as she possibly could immediately after being released. "That monster froze me with a ray gun and I stood in there forever!"

     Hannah gazed at the pink Skeith, awe-stuck. "B-b-but, Mademoiselle Beauté, why didn't you and the ice melt?!" Hannah inquired.

     "If you haven't noticed, this is a cooling area where I put all my non-needed supplies so that they don't lie in the blaring sun all day long. It preserves them for them years and keeps them in good condition, so whenever that I need them, they seem new," explained the extravagant shop owner.

     Hannah nodded. "I see."

     A loud roar suddenly erupted from the main area of the shop. "Come on, Mademoiselle Beauté!" cried Hannah, realizing that there was no time to waste. "We have to help my friend!"

     "Oh my goodness, is Sloth here?!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Beauté, a flicker of anger appearing on her face.

     "Yes!" replied Hannah, waving her hands towards the exit of the back area. "Now come on, we have to help!"

     Mademoiselle Beauté shook her first aggressively, and growled. "I'll show that mister what he's gotten himself into! No one fools around with Mademoiselle Beauté and gets away with it!"

     Hannah smirked as Mademoiselle Beauté trudged to the main area of her shop, where Sloth was now lying in a total wreck. He was gagged with some flowery pink towels and binded with some thick ropes. His face was also colored with makeup, but there was too much of it, making him looking horrendous.

     "Don't worry; I've taken care of everything!" Tina snickered proudly, crossing her arms. "Now, for the final step."

     Tina revealed a simple white shampoo bottle in her paw. Its cap was open, ready to be put on.

     Hannah's eyes widened. "The brainwashing shampoo!" she gasped.

     Tina nodded. "This doctor here needs a dose of his own medicine."

     With that, Tina poured the mysterious green substance on his head, thin wisps of purple smoke escaping from the bottle cap. Sloth wept as he felt his mind shutting down instantly from the shampoo.

     "No!" he cried agonizingly. "Everything I've planned so perfectly for is ruined! Nooo! Spare me! Please!"

     Suddenly, the villain's body went limp, and the bottle of shampoo vaporized from Tina's paw.

     "It's gone!" Mademoiselle Beauté screamed. "The shampoo bottle! It has disappeared!"

     A smile tugged at the corners of Hannah's lips. "It means evil has left us for good."

     "So," began Mademoiselle Beauté, "all those pets; they'll be all right?"

     "They should already be back to normal now," proclaimed Hannah. "And it's all because of my friend, Tina, here."

     "Oh, Tina, my favorite little client! It's so good to see you again!" Mademoiselle Beauté exclaimed dramatically, embracing the small Usul in her arms.

     Tina grinned. "It's good to see you, Mademoiselle Beauté."

     "It's good to see you too."

The End